Discover Corviale, the most famous building in the outskirts of Rome, which was recently enriched by the marvelous mural “Icarus” by JDL.
On the way to the west of Rome
On a holiday afternoon, it rained non-stop outside, and the weather was cold and humid. The weather forecast said there was a 98% probability that it would continue to rain. But we still wanted to go for a walk. At first, we wanted to go to a park, but thinking that the land in the park would become very muddy when mixed with the rain, we decided to see a place with paintings on the walls, the Corviale.
It was still drizzling when we first went out, and when we were on the road, it started to rain harder and harder. Whenever these types of things happen, we always make fun of ourselves: “If we stay at home, it will rain very lightly, maybe even stop. If we go out, it will definitely rain harder and harder.”
Before we actually arrived at the Corviale, Google Map started to go crazy, telling us that the destination had been reached, instead we were completely in the middle of a road, with nothing in front of us and nothing behind. So, we had to give up the wrong guidance of GPS and looked for it by ourselves.
The area and the building Corviale
How is the environment around the building Corviale?
When we arrived at the destination, we found that we were in the opposite direction of the building we wanted to go to, and there were no murals except the building Corviale itself, the road and a group of sheep. So, we took a few photos and started marching to the other side of the building.
We made a detour to find a parking space near the other side of the building Corviale. The first thing we saw was a painting of hands sewing, followed by a painting on a library and three flags. Opposite the library is the police station.
As it was a holiday, the gate of the police station was closed. The small police cars of the police station were neatly lined up. Looking from a distance, it reminded me of those toy police cars sold in toy stores. They were very cute and imposing.
The weird square
We saw some murals near the police station, so we happily went there. What happened after that was quite unexpected. First, there was a mural of the body of a cobra on a stair with many steps, and on the wall of the passage above the steps depicted the head of a cobra and a little boy. This mural had an indescribable eeriness on the rainy day.
After that, there were many murals on the right side of the steps. Looking along the way, the style became stranger and stranger. There was a square on the right-hand side. Entering this square, the feeling could only be described as weird.
All kinds of imaginative and bizarre murals blended together to form an indescribably creepy atmosphere. By watching the square from above, it appeared as a basketball field without the baskets.
There was a center for mental illness near the police station, and on the steps of this eerie square in the rain, sitting a strange woman, letting the rain invade, occasionally looking at us. It was raining harder and harder, and we felt colder and colder. We felt that it would be better not to stay here for a long time.
The mural on the side of the building Corviale
Who is JDL?
We got back in the car and drove around the side of the building Corviale to see the murals painted by the Dutch street-artist JDL (Judith De Leeuw) who was supported by other artists such as Spike, Smok, Marqus, Boogie and Joys.
JDL is a young artist who likes to paint on very huge walls in order to strike people with social messages pro-environment and LGBTQIA+ rights as well as against racism. The Roman association Street art for Rights promoted and helped the realization of the art work.
The mural “Icarus”
The huge mural on the side of the building Corviale is very shocking. The blue painting is integrated with the blue sky and the surrounding environment. The artist’s magic power of transforming time and space is fully displayed in this creation.
The work is called “Icarus” and takes up the Greek myth of the architect who, together with his father, built the labyrinth of Knossos on the island of Crete. Once the labyrinth was finished, the two architects understood that they had been abandoned inside, where the terrible Minotaur lived.
To escape, they made wings of feathers and wax. The two managed to fly high and escape from the labyrinth, but Icarus got too close to the sun, which melted the wax with its too hot rays. Icarus’ wings melted and he fell into the sea.
JDL’s work therefore shows two women. One of them manages to fly upwards, making endless efforts to fight against the society that oppresses her. The other woman falls downwards, as if sucked into consumerism. In fact, both appear stained by black oil, that oil which, if poured into the sea, does not allow birds to fly.
The mural is not intended to last long. The city council in fact planned to restore Corviale building soon. The restoration will directly affect the mural that will be destroyed. Afterward, the plan is to transform the artwork into an NFT in order to continue making profits that will be donated to a charity that helps people of the neighborhood
History about the area and the building Corviale
About the area
Every big city has some problem areas. With the notoriety of these areas, people start to avoid entering them, and these areas are often ignored by people who have the chance to select better neighborhood. Therefore, a vicious circle slowly forms. This area of Rome has been notorious since the 1980s.
In recent years, the Municipality has been trying to revitalize the area. For example, the “Km Verde” project involves the demolition and reconstruction of the apartments on the fourth floor, intended for services in the original project. The project vaguely inspired the film “Scusate se esisto!” (Sorry if I exist!) with the funny Paola Cortellesi.
Today, the 4,500 people who live in the building Corviale try to put the difficulties behind them, taking advantage of the various facilities that have sprung up around the Corviale, such as the church, the rugby fields, the shopping center and the library entitled to Renato Nicolini, the unforgettable city councilor for culture.
It means that the local government has improved the area by building libraries and sports facilities, so that the life of people who live there can be improved through education, sports, and entertainment.
History of the building Corviale
In the 1970s, a group of architects coordinated by Mario Fiorentino decided to create an innovative public housing project, in which the houses could be integrated with the services. They proposed a mammoth idea, which could accommodate as many as 1,200 apartments and many common spaces such as theatres, libraries, schools and health services, in order to make the Corviale self-sufficient.
The planners wanted to move away the dormitory neighborhoods that grew up in the 1960s, where there were only houses and it was difficult for the inhabitants to even do the shopping. An area was chosen not far from the Grande Raccordo Anulare, along the via Portuense which already in ancient times connected the Trastevere district to the sea, near Fiumicino.
A gigantic building was constructed, the main body of which is nine floors high and 986 meters long. Due to this length, the Corviale is commonly referred to as “Serpentone” (big snake). In parallel, a lower body runs, while the third body cuts the first two by 45°.
The Serpentone entered a phase of deterioration as soon as the works were completed in 1984, due to the illegal occupations that did not only concern the apartments but also some places that should have been transformed into common spaces.
The implementation of the services proceeded slowly. Today, these unfold along the central part of the building, where we found the police station, the center for mental illness and the cultural art space called “Il Mitreo”.
After visiting the area
Search for a toilet
Since I drank a lot of water along the way and even before departure, I needed to go to the bathroom on the way back. Many bars and dessert shops were closed during the holidays. In the area near the Trastrevere train station, we passed by “il Maritozzaro”, one of our favorite dessert shops, and looked from afar, swallowing and sighing. We ended up at McDonald’s for coffee and then went to the bathroom.
A big dinner and its consequence
At this point, we started contacting a restaurant we had just discovered and asked for some information. Finally, we were stuffed due to the huge dinner. One of the dishes that we ordered was very peculiar and delicious, with chicken nuggets, apples and gorgonzola cheese.
At the moment, I forgot that we also ordered tiramisu. Therefore, I need to make a difficult choice when it’s the tiramisu time. Because tiramisu is so delicious, I spooned a few spoonful of tiramisu into my mouth after a big dinner, and the result was miserable because I ate too much.
So, while watching movies on the couch at home in the night, I kept getting up from the couch to help digest. But it seems that I didn’t learn my lesson this time because all what I was thinking about is still to order this tiramisu next time, because it is so delicious.
Written by Hua and Enrico, photos from Hua
